Investing.com - Oil turned higher Thursday ahead of official U.S. stockpile data later in the session.
Brent crude was up 50 cents, or 0.93%, at $54.42 at 07:45 ET. U.S. crude rose 48 cents, or 0.94%, to $51.56.
American Petroleum Institute data Wednesday showed a surprise fall in U.S. crude stocks of some 5 million barrels.
Official Energy Information Administration figures due Thursday are expected to show a drop of 342,000 barrels in U.S. crude stocks in the latest week.
OPEC Wednesday indicated it expects the market to rebalance this year in the wake of output cuts.
OPEC and non-OPEC producers have agreed to cut output by some 1.8 million barrels a day in the first half of this year.
The International Energy Agency said Thursday it sees tighter market conditions on the cuts.
But it also warned that higher prices could encourage increased activity by U.S. shale producers.